ByCommittee

Case Studies

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Case Study: Haverford College

When a large snowstorm hit Haverford’s campus last year, some faculty couldn’t get to campus—a problem not just for teaching, but because a number of dossiers necessary to prepare for an Academic Council meeting the following Monday were being stored there. In the past, faculty would come to campus to pick up dossiers prior to committee meetings. When faculty called to ask what they should do, Georgia Davidis Malone, the Faculty Dossier Coordinator in the Office of the Provost, was able to reassure them that they could stay home and review everything online. “When Monday rolled around they were able to get right to work,” she said. “It convinced a lot of people that Interfolio is worth it.”

Streamlining Review

In the 2014 hiring season, hundreds of reference letters were individually emailed to Davidis Malone—a huge logistical challenge that was solved by Interfolio. Now, confidential letters are requested, received, and reviewed with an online environment dedicated for that purpose. The ability to receive, store, and review documents online in ByCommittee Faculty Search has, in Davidis Malone’s words, “streamlined the whole process and made things instantly accessible” at Haverford. Newer faculty at Haverford especially are pleased to use ByCommittee because they are accustomed to having instant access through online tools in the majority of work, at home and on campus. Now, committee work is no exception.

Confidentiality

When Haverford decided to adopt ByCommittee’s Promotion & Tenure module, Academic Council worried initially about confidentiality, especially in the external evaluation process. How could they be sure that only the appropriate individuals, at the appropriate times, would have access to evaluations? Ultimately, Interfolio put their fears to rest. While some committees still want to use hard copies—an option that remains possible with ByCommittee—the ability to send and receive confidential external evaluations within the platform has, if anything, made security less of an issue than before. Now evaluators can communicate directly with the committee through ByCommittee, and upload their materials directly into a candidate’s dossier. “This has revolutionized our whole search process,” says Davidis Malone. “It’s made our confidentiality more rigorous since we don’t have to send emails back and forth, and saves us a lot of time and aggravation.”

Reporting

ByCommittee’s reporting capabilities help with visibility and committee communication, an unexpected benefit. For instance, administrators in the Biology department create reports of every faculty applicant, along with their degree date and granting institution, and then assign numbers to each applicant to aid committee confidentiality. These reports also help to make visible at a glance the source of Haverford’s applicant pool. The ease of diversity reporting has also improved with ByCommittee; every search includes compliant EEO data-gathering, which replaces a less consistent process of sending and receiving postcards.

Support

Being able to rely on Interfolio’s support team has been key for Haverford. During a busy fall semester, Haverford administrators can refer questions from applicants and committee members to Interfolio.

In addition, Haverford administrators have direct access to a Client Success manager who responds personally and solicits suggestions for product improvement. “The #1 thing I like about Interfolio is the client service. Every time I call Sunny or Julie, they get right back to me; they always have an answer for me. We’ve been very pleased with the support.”